Trick or Treat
by Nopa LaMais
Summary: Part 1 of the Holiday Saga. Halloween is a time for the monsters and ghouls to cause mischief. Sounds like the perfect time for our favorite King to pop back into a certain girls life... Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

Now matter how much I beg or plead, I do not own the Labyrinth in any way. :)

Hey guys! Nopa here. :) Before any one gets mad at me, I promise I am hard at work on the final chapter of The Challenge. It's going great, and hopefully I won't make everyone cry again... Or will I... o.0 This story just popped into my head yesterday, while my niece was watching the Charlie Brown Halloween special, and I just decided to go with it. It'll probably be a few chapter long and I want to post the last chapter on Halloween. :) So yeah, it's just for fun and I didn't send it to my betas first (but I still love you girls!). I hope you enjoy it, and please remember to review!

Oh, and don't forget to come see me on myspace. Link is in my profile. I check it often so if you ever have any questions, ideas, or just want to chat, feel free! And now enjoy my Halloween present to you all...

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Chapter 1

Halloween had always been her favorite holiday. Better than Christmas or Thanksgiving, Easter or the 4th of July, Halloween beat them all hands down.

While the other holidays brought friends and family together, good food and presents, Halloween was the one night of the year where you could be whoever or whatever you wanted. Little girls could be the faeries that visit them in their dreams, little boys could be the monsters that they pretended not to fear, and the adults could be the figures from their childhood worlds of magic that they were no longer suppose to believe in.

Whether or not you were supposed to believe in them didn't matter to Sarah Williams, because she knew the truth: all of those things were real. She knew that faeries were beautiful, but weren't as nice as one would have you believe. Monsters were not always to be feared and in fact sometimes they could be your truest friends. And the world of magic everyone said didn't exist had been the place where she had learned all these things.

Every other day of the year Sarah Williams had to be Sarah Williams; twenty year old college student, unmagical, unimportant, and down to earth. However, on that special one night a year, she could shed that façade of normalcy she had adopted to suit the mundane world and she could become Lady Sarah, conqueror of the labyrinth and beloved by all its creatures.

On that night she could don her medieval costumes, the ones that she had forced herself to put away because she had "grown up", and she could call to her friends from her mirror and into her world, where they could dance and romp with out any suspicion. With all of the other goblins and ghouls running around, who would notice one lone dwarf, a rather large beast, and a fox dressed as a knight? Humans had lost their imagination long ago, so even if the trio were noticed, the rational mind would come up with an explanation and the person would compliment them on their amazing costumes. For that matter, even when some of the other creatures came along, goblins that Sarah had befriended, the mischievous fieries, and the old wise man with his sarcastic bird friend, none of the unimaginative, unbelieving mortals suspected anything, or even took a second glance.

This Halloween would be not different. Sarah woke up early, eager to begin her day. As usual she was the one to wake up seven year old Toby and get him ready for school. After their ordeal together so many years ago, the sibling bond between them had grown tremendously and Sarah no longer begrudged the fact that she was the one who always took responsibility for him. Her father and Karen worked long hours and took many trips, so she was almost like a mother to him. Toby had grown up to be an amazingly precocious boy, intelligent and kind, with an imagination to rival Sarah's. She had carefully questioned him several times, but to her relief he didn't seem to remember his time spent in the Underground at all.

She went into his room to wake him, stopping for a moment to smile down at the small form clutching the teddy bear Lancelot that she had given to him on that fateful night. Joining him on the bed she brushed the hair out of his eyes before calling his name. "Toby, it's time to get up!" He stirred briefly but then settled back down, attempting to turn away from her. "Toby," she said again, slightly louder this time, "You have to get up now if we're going to have time to get you in your costume." Again he shifted, but he refused to open his eyes. Finally she resorted to her "desperate measures". Whipping the blankets off she began to tickle his sides mercilessly, while he abandoned all pretenses of sleep to shriek in delight.

"Ok, ok," he shouted in glee, "I'm awake!"

Sarah stopped the torture and smiled down at her gasping brother. "Next time, don't fake it, or I'll keep going!" He laughed at her before tossing his pillow, which she deftly avoided. "Go wash you face and brush your hair and then come down for breakfast. You have to eat before we can put your costume on."

He leapt out of bed at that; he had been looking forward to this day for weeks and she knew he would be done with his morning routine in record time. With a smile on her face she made her way downstairs, stopping in the living room to take a peak at the costume she had spent long hours sewing. Out of no where weeks ago, Toby had told Sarah that this year for Halloween he wanted to be the Goblin King. His announcement had almost stopped her heart. Calmly she asked him where he had come up with such an idea and he said, "I found this book in your room and it talked about the goblins and their king. He just sounded cool, so that's what I want to be. How come you never told me that story?"

She had felt very relieved once she knew that he had just read the character out of her book. For all the years that she had cared for him and told him stories she had always been careful to never bring up the labyrinth or that man that had almost succeeded in taking her brother away. So while Toby had loved stories about a loyal dwarf named Hoggle, a friendly beast named Ludo, a brave fox knight named Sir Didymus, and other tales about creatures that Sarah had once met, the handsome king that both terrified and intrigued her had been kept secret.

For a few days she had tried to talk him out of being the goblin king, but it had been useless from the beginning. Finally she gave in to her sibling and began constructing a costume that belonged to the man that had once been her foe, but now resided solely in her dreams and nightmares. It had taken her some time to figure out which of his outlandish outfits would be the easiest to recreate and finally she had settled on the one that she had first seen him in. All black, which would be a good color for a little boy that seem to attract dirt, breeches made from a heavy material and not nearly as snug as the fearsome king seemed to favor, boots she had managed to find at a costume shop along with a pair of small gloves, and using an old leather bodice and poet shirt she had grown out of she constructed a similar looking shirt. The long cape with its midnight blue lining had been the hardest for her to make and she had actually just finished it last night.

While her brother's choice of costuming still gave her moments of slight panic, she had to admit to herself that it was impressive. When Toby came bounding down the stairs a few moments later she made up a quick and hardy breakfast for him, which he managed to wolf down with out choking. Helping him don the costume didn't take very much time, but she knew it was the finishing touches that would take forever. Getting him to sit at the kitchen table again she used a hair brush, blow dryer, and copious amounts of hairspray and gel to construct a hair style to match the outfit. Even though Toby didn't have nearly as much hair as the goblin king had, she figured it was a pretty close match.

Excited to see the finished product, Toby jumped up from the chair, swinging the cape around him as he went. A brief moment later and she heard a loud, "Cool!" Coming from the direction of the guest bathroom. Chuckling as she tidied up, she wasn't surprised when he came back out and tried to strike a terrifying pose for her. Feet spread slightly apart, hands planted on hips, and an angry frown on his face, he asked her in his high voice, "How do I look?"

"Very imposing," Sarah told him just as seriously, holding back her giggles. He definitely was a sight for her eyes, but not the scary one he had probably hoped for. While the clothes and hair could have made him pass as the king's younger brother or maybe even son, the little boy just didn't have the same force of personality that her old foe had. "C'mon your majesty," she said to him, "Time to get you to school."

Toby ran upstairs quickly and grabbed his backpack while Sarah gathered up the cookies she had made for his class. All elementary school teachers knew that it was almost impossible to get any work out of the kids on Halloween and Toby's teacher was no exception. Mrs. Henderson was making a fun day for the kids, with games and activities planned for the morning and spooky stories and movies planned for the afternoon. All of the parents were chipping in with snacks and most were also coming in through out the day in shifts to help the aging woman with the rambunctious children. Sarah had volunteered to come in for the afternoon to help with story time, which had made Toby happy. He loved all of her stories and had been telling all his friends about them.

Loading up Toby and the cookies didn't take too long and they were soon on their way to the school. Halfway there Toby asked in an excited voice, "Which story are you going to tell my class?"

"I thought I would leave it up to you," she told him. "You know all of them, which one's your favorite?"

Immediately he began to shake his head. "Nuh uh! I don't know the one about the Goblin King! You should tell us that one!"

Fists clenched hard on the steering wheel, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Toby, I don't think that's such a good idea."

Like lightning, that pout that he was so good at and she was helpless against appeared on his face, and he voiced his plea. "Please Sarah? I want to hear about the Goblin King!"

"I thought you read the story already?" She asked him warily.

"Only a little bit of it. There were lots of big words and it was hard. Plus it's always better when you tell it!" She didn't know how he managed to make his eyes look so big and innocent, but she had given up trying to figure it out long ago. "Please Sarah," he said one last time.

Letting out a sigh she gave in. "Alright Toby, I'll tell the story about the Goblin King." The small boy couldn't jump for joy in the car, but he was able to pump his fist in the air. Sarah shook her head in amusement as he squirmed around excitedly.

A few minutes later they made it to the school and Toby flung open his door. Leaning across the seat he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing out of the car yelling over his shoulder, "Thanks sis! See you after lunch!" She watched with a smile on her face as he met up with some friends, who where also dressed in their costumes. Now that Sarah thought about it, everyone would probably assume Toby was a vampire, in his all black costume and long cape. One of his good friends was in a similar outfit, but the materials had a cheaper look to them and were clearly store bought along with the set of plastic fangs.

She pulled away slowly in the car, shaking her head in rueful contemplation. After all these years of panicking over whether or not Toby recalled anything about that time, she had just agreed to tell him all about it. "What was I thinking?" She said out loud to herself. "Something tells me this isn't going to end well." Unnoticed by her, a snow white owl perched in a tree that her car passed by blinked its eyes in silent agreement.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own the labyrinth, but I do own these words. :)

Thanks a bunch to everyone that reviewed the last one! I'm not sure how long this story will be, but I'm hoping I'll post every other day until Halloween. So enjoy and remember to review!

Chapter 2

Knowing that she had promised to tell the story of the goblin king to Toby and his entire class kept Sarah on edge the entire trip home. She knew better than to think that she could wiggle out of a promise made to her little brother, but still her mind searched desperately for a way to fix the mess that was about to be made.

By the time she arrived back at the house, no magic answer had sprung forth in her mind, so instead she resolved to not think about it for while. _Maybe if I don't try so hard to come up with something, the answer will come to be. _Even though her plan made little sense, she shrugged her shoulders and went with it, knowing she had no other options at this point.

When she finally made it to the house, she first made her way into the garage, digging out the boxes of Halloween decorations that seemed to become more and more filled each year. She spent an hour happily decorating the front yard, taking time to rake up most of the leaves and sweeping the walkway for the trick-or-treaters. Since Halloween fell on a Friday this year she knew it would be a long night, with hundreds of eager kids. Taking that into account she had gotten double the amount of candy, figuring that any leftovers would be happily devoured in the days to come by Toby.

When at last everything was set up to her satisfaction, she made her way back inside, depositing the now empty boxes in the garage as she went. With nothing to occupy her time now, her mind wandered back to Toby and the story she had promised to tell him a few hours from now.

_Damn, I still don't have any ideas! If only there was some way to distract him… _Suddenly, the perfect idea popped into Sarah's mind. Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus never came aboveground on Halloween until after the sun set, but that didn't mean that they couldn't. If she brought her three friends along with her to story time, Toby would forget all about the goblin king. Seeing his three favorite story time hero's brought to life would be the perfect thing to take his mind off that dratted king.

With the perfect, from her perspective at least, plan in mind, she raced upstairs and eagerly sat in front of her old vanity mirror, anxious to call to her friends and explain to them the plan. "Hoggle I need you," she called out the familiar words, waiting breathlessly for her dear friend to appear beside her. She waited a moment, but the mirror remained empty of any reflection other than her own. Frowning slightly she tried again, a little more urgently this time. "Hoggle, please, I need you." Still she remained alone in her room. Sitting back against her chair, she frowned at the mirror, upset at its inability to produce her friend.

If this hadn't happened once or twice before, Sarah might have been worried. However, it had happened and Hoggle had explained to her that it was not always possible for him to come to her. Whenever he had duties to attend to outside the bounds of the labyrinth for example, he couldn't hear her calls and join her. So even though it put a kink in her plan, she didn't let it bother her too much.

Instead she tried a different approach, calling out, "Ludo I need you." Again she waited. And waited. Becoming more perturbed, she poked the mirror with her finger saying again, "Ludo. I. Need. You." She spoke loudly and over enunciated each word, as if she was talking to a foreigner. She knew that Ludo, although braver than all of her friends combined, was not exactly the smartest beast out there. Still she had hoped that upon hearing her summons he would be able to figure out what to do. Apparently her deductions were all wrong.

Attempting to calm herself she took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten and then released it. Taking her last chance she said in an irritated voice, "Sir Didymus I need you." Nothing happened yet again.

_Something is up with those guys, _she thought to herself. _It's too strange that none of them would be able to answer my summons. Sir Didymus never leaves the Bog and thats well within the bounds of the labyrinth! _There was an old saying she had read in a book once that went something along the lines of, "Once is tragic, twice is coincidence, but three times is conspiracy." Judging by the fact that none of her dear friends answered her call on the one day a year they could all be together definitely made a conspiracy. _And I think I know who would be behind it… _

For the last five years she had forced herself to not think about the goblin king and yet for the last month he had not been far from her mind. Ever since Toby had made the strange request for Halloween, he hadn't been far from her thoughts and the dreams that had plagued her at random times these past few years now occurred almost nightly.

_Is he behind all of this? Toby asking for that costume, finding that book and wanting to know the story, and my friends not being able to come to me? _Sarah knew that all of that was well within the scope of the king's power, considering how easy it had been for him to alter time that night. But what purpose would he have for all of this? _It can't be Toby; goblins are only interested in babies, right? Could it be me? Is this some twisted plot for revenge?_

The fact that the goblin king had so much power and was always so unpredictable made Sarah extremely nervous. _Is he watching me now I wonder? _Her eyes darted around her room, as if she would really find the mighty king crouched in the corner spying on her. To her slight relief, her room was devoid of any one else besides her. Still, a corner of her mind pointed out that he hardly had to be in the room with her to spy on her actions.

_Maybe I should just try and confront him about it? Ask him what he wants and get it over with? _Although she knew she should dread seeing her one time foe again, a small part of her seemed to grow excited at the prospect of seeing him.

She took a deep breath and stood in the center of her room. Opening her mouth, she prepared to call out to him, but a chance glance into her mirror stopped her cold. As usual when she had to wake up early and take Toby to school she had simply rolled out of bed and pulled on the first pair of pants and a sweat shirt that she could lay her hands on. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and there wasn't a bit of makeup on her face.

_I can't confront the Goblin King like this! _Chiding herself for being so stupid, she hastily grabbed up her bathrobe and ran to take a shower. Some might think it odd that she felt the need to gussy up her appearance to face down a potential enemy, but Sarah viewed it as merely preparing herself properly for battle. Never had she seen the king dressed in anything other than his best, perfectly groomed and attired. The last time he had met her she had been a bewildered child in jeans and a simple blouse. She may not know much about royalty or the fae, but a basic principal of psychology was that people based how they treated you on their first impression. Years before when she had first confronted him she was a bratty child, insisting on the "fairness" of the universe. Now she was a confident and poised adult and she would meet him as an equal. If she didn't dress the part though, it would ruin his view of her, marking her as inferior and giving him an advantage straight away. _And the last thing that arrogant man needs is more advantages!_

So she took the time to take a nice long shower and then paid extra attention to her normal grooming. Her long ebony curls were dried and left to hang down her back, kept back from her face by a head band that matched her costume. The medieval dress that she had chosen this year was floor length and had a high waist. The skirt and long dagger sleeves were a deep wine color, while the bodice that crisscrossed in front was a simple black, as were the matching boots. She applied a light covering of makeup, a bit of smoky eye shadow and liner to enhance her green eyes and just a hint of red lip gloss. Looking in her mirror, she smiled at the beautiful girl that gazed back at her with sparkling eyes. She looked just as she hoped, grown up and sure of herself, but also sexy and tempting. _If it's a fight he wants, I'm sure a bit of feminine wiles will help me out a bit as well!_

She knew that her dear mother, who had always been so prim and proper as far as Sarah remembered her, would blanch at the idea of her daughter using her looks as a weapon. But even though she had been young during their last meeting, she was sure that he had done the same thing to her. That time spent in the crystal ball room where they had danced and he sang his song filled with such wonderful promises had almost succeeded in deterring her from her quest to save Toby. The blasted man was sexy as hell and charming when the mood struck him, but more importantly he knew it, using it against her as surely as he used his magic. Just as she knew that to meet him dressed as a ragamuffin would put her on a lower level, she was also aware that to disregard the allure of her more grown up features would handicap her as well. If he could play that game, then so could she.

Armed now and ready for whatever he had decided to throw at her, she marched purposefully downstairs. Into the living room she went, the largest room of the house and with an exit to the outside if it turned out he was too much for her to handle. When she stood in the center of the room she took a deep and steadying breath, deciding on the best way to call him forth.

_Obviously I can't make a wish; cause then we'd be playing under his terms again. Could I just call him to me like Hoggle and the others? _Another thing that seemed to be true in all worlds was that names had power. Whether it was the mortal world where a well placed name could make or break you or a portal to the Underground that simply needed the names of her friends to activate, names had a special power unto them. She had always known that deep down and that was why since her first fight with him she had never dared utter his real name aloud, or even think it for that matter.

As far as she could recall, he had never spoken of his name in her presence and the only reason she knew it was because of Hoggle. Had the king purposely kept his name form her, on the off chance that she beat him? Having beaten his labyrinth and being in possession of his name, could she have some sort of power over him? _Is that what this is all about? But why would he have waited so long to come? _There were still far too many questions and no answers.

_Time to stop stalling and just get on with it. _She took one more deep breath and concentrated hard on what she wanted. _Words have almost as much power as names Sarah. So chose them carefully. _While she wanted to talk to the goblin king and find out what he was after, she certainly didn't want to bind them together in any way, nor did she want to have to beat some silly contest so she could be rid of him. With all that in mind, she spoke out into the room carefully and clearly, "Jareth, King of the Goblins, come to me now." _Now let's see what he has to say for himself._


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own the labyrinth in any way. Such a pity. :)

I'm so happy that you guys seem to be enjoying this story so far! The idea just came to me out of the blue and I've pretty much just been making it up as I go along. :)

Thank you so much to my reviewers, I love you all and I'm sorry I haven't responded to anyone. I've just been so busy I haven't had a chance, but I'll try to start doing so. Also, don't forget to add me to your myspace friends! Link in my profile. I hope no one freaks out at me at he end of this chapter... Don't forget to review!

Chapter 3

"Jareth, King of the Goblins, come to me now!" She stood with arms on hips, waiting for the appearance of the annoyingly sexy fae, but just like before nothing happened. For five minutes she stood there, thinking maybe he was just trying to get her to lower her guard. After ten minutes she was fuming, wondering how he dared to not answer her. By the time she had been standing there for fifteen minutes she felt absolutely foolish.

_Did I really think he would just come running to me because I told him to? Idiot! He's the freakin Goblin King; he just doesn't come when you call! _She couldn't remember ever feeling stupider than she did now. _What else was I suppose to do though? I'm certainly not going to be wishing anyone away…_

Still berating herself for acting so foolish, she decided she may as well head over to the school early. While the thought of telling his story to the children still worried her, she did feel slightly better knowing that he hadn't answered a direct summons from her. _Everything that's been going on is probably just one big coincidence. Toby told you he found that blasted book. Although I thought I had put it up in the attic with the rest of my stuff? And I'm sure Hoggle is just busy taking care of his duties so he can come Aboveground tonight. I've never tried contacting Ludo and Sir Didymus through the mirror without Hoggle there, so maybe they just don't know how it works._

Everything seemed to have a much more rational explanation now and it irked Sarah that she hadn't taken the time to think things through before this. _Who knows what kind of mess I could have gotten into if he HAD shown up, and didn't have anything to do with all this? I'm sure me accusing him of revenge would be some sort of Fae Court no-no and I would have been punished for it. Just as well that he didn't show._

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling of mild disappointment she felt at his lack of attention. _I spoke his name, calling out to him. I'm sure he heard it right? So he's just ignoring me? Oh, the nerve of that man! _Such irrational thoughts should have given her pause, but she just went right on with them. Thinking that he might actually not even give her notice any more made her want to hit something.

The drive to the school gave her time to calm down and unwind. Preparing to do possible battle and then the mental dress down afterwards had made her tense and on edge. Sitting in the car helped her nerves somewhat and she tried to focus on the task at hand. _Maybe I could just give them the short version about him. Then I could move on to something else. If Toby is disappointed I can always give him the full version later._

Of all of her wild plans thought up today, that one was the best and actually made sense. It wasn't too much longer before she had made it to the school and had parked. On her way into the school she passed Mrs. Jacobs, the mother of one of Toby's friends.

The mid thirties woman was dressed as a witch, complete with mid calf black dress, tall witch's hat, broomstick, and a fake wart placed near the end of her nose. Sarah was somewhat confused to see the woman heading to the parking lot, as she had been scheduled to stay with the class until Sarah's time started. Since Sarah was over an hour early, it made no sense that the woman should be leaving.

"Hello Mrs. Jacobs, did you abandon poor Mrs. Henderson to face all those sugar high monsters by herself?" Sarah asked in a teasing tone.

"Oh Sarah! You're early. You must have heard about the guest." Now that Sarah was up close to the older woman, it was plain that the woman was clearly flustered and had a somewhat dreamy look in her eyes.

"Guest?" She asked confused. "Toby didn't tell me about a guest."

"Well I don't think any of the children knew about him actually. My Arthur sure didn't say anything about him! Imagine my surprise to walk in dressed as an ugly old witch and be confronted with the handsomest man I ever saw!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely!" The woman gave Sarah a slight wink before adding, "I just hope Arthur doesn't say anything to his father about what a goose I made of myself." Sarah laughed politely with the woman, but her mind was running a mile a minute. "And just wait until you see his costume! Such a bold man to dress in that manner…" The woman got quiet for a moment, eyes unfocused and her mouth turning up into a smile.

_Jareth! It couldn't be, could it? _"Mrs. Jacobs, who is the guest? Why is he here?"

"Well he's Mrs. Henderson's son of course! Lisa Jenkins's mom told me that he hadn't been to town in almost five years. I also hear he's only staying through until tomorrow, so he came to school with his mother so that they would have more time together. Doesn't he just sound like the nicest man?"

Sarah nodded in distraction, eager now to get away. "He sounds so wonderful I just want to go see him right away. Will you be returning to the class?"

"Oh no dear, I'm heading home to change. I tell you, the second I saw him and that sexy smirk he gave me when he saw the wart on my nose… Well I just about died! He was the perfect gentleman and didn't say a word about it, but still. I knew you would be coming soon and he seems great with children, so I figured it would be alright to leave." Mrs. Jacobs lost the dreamy look somewhat as she recalled her embarrassment, but she persisted in singing the unknown man's praises.

"Well thanks for telling me. I'll see you later." Before the older woman could make a retort, Sarah took off for Toby's class, her heart beating a mile a minute.

_So that's why he didn't come when I called to him! He's been hiding out in Toby's class, waiting to give me a heart attack! Well too bad for you Jareth, I've been warned. Won't it just piss you off when I don't even flinch when I see you?_

The tables had seemed to have turned in her favor and she walked to the first grade classroom with her head held high. She kept her footsteps to a sedate walk, not wanting to give away her excitement, but it was a hard won battle with herself.

An eternity later it seemed, she finally made it to the door. _Ok Sarah, this is it. _With a light knock on the door she waited, trying hard to keep the triumphant smile off her face, but the bright sparkle in her eyes told the world of her amusement.

Mrs. Henderson opened the door for her a moment later, not dressed in a costume, but in black pants and a orange shirt with a happy jack-o-lantern on the front, and greeting her with a cheery smile. The old woman was almost as short as the students she taught, being only five feet tall, but she had a sunny disposition and endless amounts of energy. She was well loved among all the students and also happened to be one of Sarah's old teachers.

"My dear, so good of you to come early! Mrs. Jacobs had a sudden emergency at home and had to leave, but luckily my son is here today helping me out." The old woman smiled up at Sarah, clearly happy that her "son" was here with her.

_I wonder what he did to the poor old dear to make her think he was her son? _With a slight frown on her face she looked curiously at the old woman who seemed to be acting perfectly normal. _Whatever it was I hope it doesn't hurt her. _"I just ran into Mrs. Jacobs actually and she told me about your wonderful son. Where is he?" It was just then that Sarah realized that the two women were standing in an otherwise empty classroom.

"He said that he had a game for the children to play, but that they needed more room. The silly man wouldn't take no for an answer and insisted I needed a few moments to rest after the children had been running me ragged all morning." The woman seemed to become slightly worried for a moment as she spoke quietly, almost to herself, "Actually it was quite strange how persistent he was." With a soft shake of her head she added with a smile for Sarah, "I just hope the little dears are taking it easy on him."

Sarah had begun to turn white as she listened to her old teacher. _He took the children away? Oh my god, what if is taking them all? _"Mrs. Henderson, you didn't make any wishes before he left by any chance, did you?"

The kindly old woman gave her a puzzled look before she replied, "Why actually dear, yes I did. It's always so tough on holidays; the children are just so excited. I had said under my breath that I wished the children would be taken away for a bit and my son was standing next to me at the time and must have heard. Not long after is when he insisted on taking them away for a bit. How did you know that?"

_Please Jareth, tell me you didn't take all those children! _"Mrs. Henderson, this is really important, where did he take the kids?" Sarah was near frantic now, but didn't want to panic the old woman. However, some of her anxiety must have shown clearly as the older woman began to look more and more confused.

"I believe he said that he was going to take them down to the field." The older woman had barely finished when Sarah took off like an arrow, heading for the old baseball field.

_How could I be so stupid? I should have known that he was up to something! I swear, if he's done anything to those children… _Sarah was in full panic mode now. She wasn't sure how long ago Jareth had left with the kids and she had no way of knowing if she would actually find them at the field. _He could have left with them right away! The goblins could have helped; they probably just needed to be somewhere more private before they could do it… Oh Toby, I'm so sorry! _Sarah wanted to sob in anguish, but she forced her tears back, knowing that breaking down now would solve nothing.

Panting heavily she rounded the corner of the auditorium, the field now a distant sight. With a tiny sigh of relief she noticed several figures on the field. With another burst of speed she took herself closer to her goal.

When she had finally made it the edge of the field, she stopped in shock and horror. The sight that became clear in her eyes made her want to faint or throw up, she wasn't sure which one. Scattered across the field were the tiny forms of Toby's class, all lying sprawled out on the grass, most lying in uncomfortable heaps, and not a single one moving.


	4. Chapter 4

Still don't own the labyrinth... But if anyone would like to buy it for me for Christmas...?

Chapter 4

Sarah couldn't contain her fear any more and she screamed out, "Toby!" As soon as the words left her lips, a small blonde figure no more than ten feet away from her and wearing all black popped his head up. She recognized the outfit and the carefully styled hair she had worked on for so long this morning and almost fainted in relief.

Several of the other heads also began to pop up and the ones that did had looks of amusement and irritation on their faces. Before she could run to her brother, a loud high scream pierced the air from the other end of the field saying, "Sunset!" All of the children jumped up in glee and began to run towards the figure, except for Toby.

"What's going on Sarah?" He asked her.

"Sunrise!" The figure shouted this time, causing all the children to fall to the ground. They all landed in crumpled heaps, looking just as they did when she had first arrived.

"What are they doing?" Sarah asked Toby.

"Why, they're playing Sunrise, Sunset of course," said a deep masculine voice behind her. Sarah immediately froze, every bit of her attention focused on the person standing behind her. But… Something seemed off. _That voice… Why does it sound so different? _"Why don't you go join them Toby?" The man behind her said.

"Yeah, ok!" Her brother said happily, rejoining his class.

Stealing herself for the imminent confrontation, Sarah turned slowly around saying, "I don't know what you're planning, but it won't work! And I won't let you harm those children…" The words that had started out so heatedly died on her lips as she faced the friendly and open face of Mrs. Henderson's son. Who just so happened to _not _be a certain King of the Goblins. "Oh," she said, cheeks flaming hotly. _OMIGOD! Sarah Williams, you great big IDIOT!_

While the man was most decidedly _not _Jareth, Mrs. Jacobs had been completely correct in saying that he was an extremely handsome specimen. He was tall and broad shouldered, athletic looking but not overly so. He had light brown hair, with matching chocolate eyes, his features were strong and handsome, and his mouth was curved into a broad grin, displaying perfect white teeth. He was, as the saying goes, the total package and Sarah wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by a large hole in he ground.

"I'm very sorry for taking the children, especially your brother, away from the classroom, Mrs…?"

"Williams," she told him in a whisper, "Ms. Williams."

"Ms. Williams, thank you. I'm sorry that you were so worried about the children, but I assure you that I've been supervising them. I just thought my mother needed a few moments and the children needed to blow off some excess energy."

"Oh, Mr. Henderson, I'm very sorry. I-I guess I just over reacted when I saw all the children lying on the ground." He looked at her confused and she squirmed in place as she scrambled to come up with an excuse. "You know, because of their Halloween costumes… Ah, I, uh, just didn't want them to get dirty…" The words sounded lame to her and she could only imagine what he thought. Desperately she sought to change the conversation. "What are they doing anyways?" She asked him.

They both watched as the children again all fell to the ground, only to jump back up and run quickly towards the figure before falling again. "Well, it's just a simple version of Red Light, Green Light that I came up with for Halloween. They're suppose to be vampires and I thought the children would just freeze in place, but they took off with the idea to fall to the ground dead at each 'sunrise'." He explained the game to her with a grin, a bright twinkle in his eyes. As they continued observing the game, Sarah couldn't help but see how fond he seemed to be of them.

"Do you have children of your own Mr. Henderson?"

"Please, call me Christian. And no Ms. Williams, I haven't had the good luck to have any children yet."

"Call me Sarah," she said in reply. They turned to each other and smiled, for a moment caught up in each others eyes. Sarah opened her mouth, surely to say something witty or amusing, when suddenly she saw a white streak in the sky behind Christian's shoulders. It flew past almost too quickly for Sarah to identify it, but for some reason the image of an abnormally large white owl was burned into her brain. "Jareth," she mouthed, not even realizing what she was doing and forgetting that Christian was still there in front of her.

"I'm sorry?" He said confused, breaking the spell that seemed to have rooted her to the spot.

"Oh! I, ah just remembered something. I'm supposed to be telling the children a story now. Yes, that's why I came; I was going to be this afternoon's entertainment."

"Yes, I believe my mother told me about that. Well why don't you return to the classroom and let my mother know I'll be up shortly with the children?" He seemed puzzled by her sudden nervousness and withdrawal from their conversation, but covered it up nicely by allowing her to escape.

Murmuring a quiet thank you, Sarah quickly departed from the field, albeit in a much slower manner than she had first arrived. The sighting of the owl put Sarah back on high alert and her mind tried to make sense of what had been happening. _I call for my friends and none of them come. Then I try for His High and Mightiness, but he ignores me as well. Now I see an owl, a WHITE owl no less, flying during the day. Something is definitely up and I am going to find out what that is, even if it kills me!_

Arriving back at the classroom, she laughingly explained to Mrs. Henderson why she had taken off so quickly earlier, saying that she was worried that the children would run circles around her poor son. She had just gone to make sure everything was alright and she was pleased to see that he seemed to be doing just fine.

"Yes, my boy works very well with children. He worked as a camp counselor during his college years and now helps with a mentorship program in his spare time." The aging teacher spoke of her son with such pride in her voice, Sarah couldn't help but smile. The older woman continued saying, "He's such a handsome man, I'm sure he'll have adorable children some day. He just hasn't found the right woman yet, I'm afraid," she added, casting a sly look Sarah's way.

For her part, she couldn't help but blush once again, inwardly cringing at the older woman's attempts at matchmaking. While Christian was indeed a very good looking man, Sarah had yet to be able to hold any sort of stable relationship and had recently decided to stop trying for awhile. Between school and her duties as a stand in parent for Toby, she just didn't have time for a man.

Deciding to just ignore her old teacher's none too subtle hint and the subsequent ones, Sarah merely stayed silent while assisting the woman in pushing back the desks so the children could sit on the floor in front while Sarah told her story.

By the time they were all finished, Christian was escorting the children back into the classroom and overseeing them as they formed a circle on the floor in front of a low chair. When they had all been settled, he turned to Sarah and said with a wink, "Brought them back all safe and sound and I made sure none of them had a speck of dust on them."

Sarah smiled at his gentle teasing, but gave an exaggerated glance askance at the children directly in front of them that had small patches of grass clinging to their backsides. "Thank you, oh kind sir. It's so nice to know that they were in such good hands."

He grinned at her soft sarcasm, giving her a fairly well executed curtsy in return. It was just then that Sarah realized the costume that he had on and she couldn't help but burst out into giggles. When she had first met him down at the field, she had been so shocked to discover who he _wasn't_ that she hadn't realized that he was dressed in a fairly good approximation of the cranky old principal. Ms. Collins was an extremely old and bitter woman that no one, not even the parents or teachers, liked. Mrs. Henderson must have told her son a bad story or two and he had chosen to dress up in imitation of the old bat. A hideous flower print skirt that fell to his ankles was accompanied by a mismatched lurid purple blouse. She wasn't sure where he had found such ugly heels and in that big of a size, but they truly completed the outfit. The fact that the outfit looked so much like the one the old principal loved to wear to important functions had to be on purpose. A coarse gray wig with a lopsided bun on top that he was just now placing back on his head sent her into giggles again and he smiled along with her.

"Where did you find all that in your size?" She asked in amazement when she had finally gotten her laughter under control.

"I have a few friends that work for a theater troupe and when I asked them for some help putting a costume together last minute they were happy to oblige." In a mock serious voice he also told her, "When I first arrived I received a very cold reception from my mother's boss. For some reason it only got worse when I explained to a passing parent that I was dressed up as a blind Mrs. Doubtfire." That set Sarah laughing again, which the children were only too happy to join in with. Even Mrs. Henderson gave a few chuckles as she shook her head at her son.

"That boy is going to get me fired," she said fondly to Sarah in a loud whisper.

Once everyone had settled down, the children all began begging Sarah for her story. "Toby said it's about this really scary king that steals away babies!" Lisa Jenkins said in a somewhat shaky tone.

"Nah," piped up Arthur Jacobs, "It's about a princess with special powers that makes friends with all these cool monsters!"

"Is it a love story?" One sweet little girl, who's name Sarah could never remember, asked.

"Maybe if you all let her tell the story you'll find out what happens," Christian told the excited children.

Shooting him a thankful smile, Sarah settled down into her chair, looking around at all the excited faces. Even Mrs. Henderson had pulled up a chair and looked attentive, sitting next to Christian. Forgetting her earlier anxieties about telling her tale, Sarah began to recite the story she knew by heart.

"Once there was a beautiful girl who was kind, loving, and loved to play make believe. However, life was not very good for the beautiful girl because she had a very cold and cruel step mother, who delighted in making her life miserable. The beautiful girl also had a baby brother whom the step mother made the little girl take care of all the time. The beautiful girl saw this as a punishment, but later on learned to love her baby brother very much." Sarah paused here for a moment to smile at Toby, who gave her a toothy grin in return.

"But what no one knew," she continued, "Was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the beautiful girl and had given her certain powers…"

* * *

Ok, I know this should have been up on Tuesday, but for those of you that don't know, Southern California has become one of the pits of hell. There are wild fires everywhere, schools and business' are closed, 1500 homes have been destroyed, and a million people have been forced to evacuate. I've been stuck in the middle of it all, but have no fear, I'm perfectly safe. :) I've just had a little more on my mind than my stories. I'm going to make it up to you though by posting a second chapter later today and that will put me back on schedule. I hope everyone's had a better week that I have and if any of you live here in hell with me, I truly hope you and your families are ok. 

Now as for the story... Well, all I can say is, where the hell is Jareth? Four chapters now and all that we've seen is a stinking owl... Hmm, it appears that our favorite leading man is a little shy in this fic. How many more chapters until he appears? Don't ask me, I'm just the writer. :)


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own the labyrinth... End of story. :) Well no, not really, but you get what I'm saying.

As promised, here is that second chapter for you, and I still have 15 mins! Two in a day, my brain feels mushy...

Chapter 5

"But what no one knew," she continued, "Was that the king of the goblins had fallen in love with the beautiful girl and had given her certain powers. The goblins told the girl, 'Say your right words'," Sarah said the last part in a deeper voice, in imitation of the goblins. "But the young girl knew that she must never say them. If she did the goblins would take her baby brother away to the goblin city, where the king would make him one of them and the boy would be lost to them forever!"

Sarah paused here again, gazing at all the rapt faces around her. Even Christian and Mrs. Henderson were hanging on her every word. With an amused smile on her face she began to continue the story. "So the beautiful girl suffered in silence, until one cold and dark night, when she was tired from all her chores and hurt by the cruel words of her evil stepmother. She was told to watch over her baby brother while her father and stepmother went out for the evening. The little brother cried and cried, throwing a fit and the beautiful girl could take it no more. With a loud scream she cried out into the night, 'Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, take this child of mine far away from me.' And suddenly the wind began to howl and all the windows and doors were thrown open."

Sarah was getting into her story now, but Toby had begun to squirm in his seat and then finally shot his hand up into the air. Startled Sarah asked, "What is it Toby?"

Toby looked a little angry as he said to her, "Sarah, you have to tell the story right.

Mrs. Henderson and Christian both looked at Sarah with identical expressions of puzzlement and Sarah tried to laugh off Toby's accusation. "I am telling the story right."

"No you're not!" Toby said heatedly. "You have to use the right words!"

Before Sarah could say anything more, Mrs. Henderson broke into the conversation and said, "Toby, dear, why don't you just let your sister finish her story?"

With a very disgruntled look Toby crossed his arms in front of his chest and settled back down. Sarah tried to smile at him but he simply scowled at her. It struck her as odd that he looked so much like Jareth just then. Shaking the eerie feeling she had, she bravely continued on with her story.

"So the wind was howling and the beautiful girl became very nervous. She ran to the crib holding her baby brother only to find that it was now empty. Realizing what a horrible thing that she had done the girl became frantic. Soon her terror grew as a giant white owl flew in from the window and transformed into a tall man." Sarah ran out of words for a moment as she thought about how Jareth had looked that night. Terrifying and alluring, she had been both frightened by him and yet at the same time she had wanted to take everything that he had offered to her and more. "The man was the king of the goblins, the one that had fallen in love with the beautiful girl. In exchange for her brother he had come to make all her dreams come true."

Sarah took another moment to look at her audience. The children were all clearly fascinated with her story; even Toby had come around and was now excitedly anticipating every word. "Even though the beautiful girl was very tempted, she knew that she could never abandon her brother to such a cruel fate. The girl gently rejected the king's offer, insisting that he return her brother. Unfortunately this enraged the king. He refused to return her brother to the girl unless she went to fetch him herself. The only way to claim her brother was to reach the castle, which lay beyond the goblin city, in the center of the labyrinth. Although she knew it would be hard, the girl accepted her fate, determined to save her brother. With only thirteen hours to do so, the girl left behind the mighty king and began her trek through the maze."

Having warmed up considerably to the art of story telling, Sarah began to become more animated as she told her tale. With a volunteer she reenacted the part of the story with Hoggle when she tried to get into the labyrinth. The children laughed as she described the short cross dwarf and winced in sympathy when she talked about getting bit by the fairy. They understood her desperation when it felt like she had run for miles with out meeting any turns and her anger when she realized that everything was constantly changing around her.

By the time she got to the oubliette, Sarah felt as if she were reliving the whole experience. "The evil king had devised a trap for the beautiful girl, hoping to force her into quitting. However, the king didn't yet realize how stubborn the girl could be, nor how tricky, and she convinced the king's dwarf to lead her out of the oubliette and to help her solve the labyrinth. This displeased the king greatly," _what an understatement, _"And so the king sent more traps and tricks her way." The kids gasped in shock as she described the cleaners, some of the girls even covering their eyes as if they were watching TV. But all the children broke out into a spontaneous cheer when Sarah told them how she and the dwarf escaped unharmed.

Continuing on with her story with out any interruptions, Sarah was able to get through meeting Ludo, the fieries, Sir Didymus, and escaping the Bog of Eternal stench with out too much trouble. However, when she tried to gloss over the part when Jareth drugged her with the peach, merely saying that the tricks and illusions the king threw at her almost made her fail the trial, Toby became agitated once again. "Yes Toby?" She asked, sensing that the hand was about to come flying up again.

"You're not telling the story right! You forgot about the ball where the king admits he loves the girl!"

Sarah was floored by a moment by Toby's pronouncement. _Jareth never really admitted his love for me… And how does Toby know about that?! Surely he didn't get THAT far in the story? _Sarah tried to laugh off his new accusation, simply saying, "Oh Toby, that part's not really important."

But all of the girls immediately cried out, insisting she tell them all about it. Even some of the boys looked interested and Mrs. Henderson in the back had the same dreamy look on her face the Mrs. Jacobs had had earlier. Christian meanwhile just seemed to be enjoying the story, giving her an encouraging nod when she looked his way.

With a defeated sigh Sarah began again, telling them about the ball. "Well, the king had come up with a new distraction for the beautiful girl and put it into motion as the group of friends made it out of the bog. Earlier he had given Hoggle an enchanted peach, ordering the dwarf to give it to Sarah. When the scared servant had at last followed orders and done what he was told, the beautiful girl relished the peach as she took her first bite. However, almost immediately the girl began to feel very strange, falling asleep at the base of a large tree."

Sarah remembered that moment perfectly. She should, since she had dreams and nightmares about that moment for the last five years. The dreams all started out the same, with her tasting the poisoned peach and falling into a deep sleep. Then she would wake up in that beautiful gown, surrounded by the laughing courtiers swirling around as they danced.

Here is where the dream would deviate, either becoming a pleasant dream that Sarah secretly cherished or a hellish nightmare. If it was the wonderful dream, Sarah would immediately find Jareth standing alone, staring at her with those smoldering intense eyes. He wouldn't say a word to her but they would dance, held tightly in the other's arms for hours, the music never stopping and their faces mere inches apart. Sometimes they would kiss right before the dream ended and Sarah would wake up with a racing heart and a deep blush staining her cheeks. However, on nights that she had the nightmare, the scene was drastically different. During those times, Sarah would search through the maze of people for hours, looking desperately for Jareth as she would become more and more frantic and tired. The guests would purposely impede her search, laughing and jeering at her, sometimes causing her to trip and fall. By the time she would find Jareth, her beautiful gown would be torn and dirty and her hair would be snarled and hanging down in lank strands across her face. Jareth would take one look at her and sneer, turning away from her with a cruel laugh, a beautiful fae lady clinging to his arm. Sarah would then fall to the ground weeping, only to wake up from the dream with tears still running down her pale cheeks.

Both had come to her over the years fairly regularly, but never frequently. And although she clearly preferred the lovely dream over the nightmare, she experienced both equally. It was only in the last few weeks when Toby had insisted on dressing as the Goblin King for Halloween that the frequency of the dreams picked up, causing Sarah to experience one or the other every night.

Shaking her head at the memory of those dreams, Sarah continued with her tale. "When the girl woke up from her enchanted sleep, she found herself in what appeared to be a giant crystal. All around her were beautiful men and woman dressed in fancy gowns and suits. Everyone was talking and laughing while dancing and the room was filled with bright twinkling lights. She looked down at herself to see that she too was dressed in a beautiful white gown and when she caught sight of her reflection she saw that her hair was styled with ribbons and sparkling jewels. Something in the crowd began to call out to her as a strange melody played throughout the room. Step by step she wandered through the crowd, searching for something, or more accurately someone."

A glance at her audience showed the girls sitting with wide eyes, eagerly waiting for more, while she seemed to have lost some of the boys. Smiling to herself she carried on, "The beautiful girl continued to search, sometimes catching brief glimpses of her prey and yet he somehow seemed to always stay out of her reach. Finally, at her wits end, there he was. The Goblin King stood before her, the one who had been calling out to her and drawing her in. With out a word spoken between them they came into each other's arms and began to dance, while the Goblin King began to sing a song to her."

Sarah stopped here; something had caught her attention, some distant sound that she couldn't quite hear. The children and adults waited for her to begin her story again, but she just sat there, head tilted to the side and a frown of concentration on her face. "What happened next Ms. Williams?" One of the little girls asked.

"What?" Sarah said, seeming to come out of a daze. _What was that noise? It sounded like music… Or singing…?_

"The song Ms. Williams! What was the song he sang to her?" Chimed the girl named Megan sitting next to Toby.

"Oh yeah, the song," Sarah muttered. Louder she said, "Well it was a very beautiful song that-" There it was again! A little louder this time and just a smidge clearer. Sarah stood up suddenly, concentrating hard on the song that she could just barely make out.

_As the pain sweeps through,  
__Makes no sense for you,  
__Every thrill has gone,  
__Wasn't too much fun at all.  
__But I'll be there for you…_

"As the world falls down," Sarah said in a voice almost too low for anyone to hear. The children watched her in fascination, thinking that this was just part of the story, but Mrs. Henderson and her son exchanged a worried look. Sarah ignored them all and began to walk towards the door as if she were in a trance.

"Sarah?" Toby called out finally. For a moment she paused, looking over her shoulder at her brother, but then with a fleeting grin she took off, running through the door and away from the class before anyone could stop her.

* * *

Damn, still no Jareth! Sorry... This story seems to be a fun game for me, to see how many chapters I can go with out actually bringing him into the story! So far it's 5 chapters... Can anyone beat that record? If you have, tell me so I can read the story. I'm running out of ways to stall his entrance. :) BUT, it looks like he'll FINALLY be making an appearance next chapter... Or will he...? Muah ha ha... Hey, it's Halloween, I'm allowed to be evil. . :)

Thank you so much to everyone who is reviewing, and a special thank you to everyone that expressed their well wishes for the tragedy going on down here. Like I said, I'm completely fine, as is my family, but a lot of people lost their homes and everything else they have. So if you can, see if there's a way you can help with the relief effort. All us Crazy Californians will love you for it. :)

And as usual, here's my bichapter plea for you to add me on your myspace. :) Link is in my profile. Just do it people, so I'll stop asking! I'm trying to make it so that I can chat with y'all through it, and keep you updated on new stories and chapters, and get any feedback/ideas you may have. So yeah, go add me!

Geez, this stupid author's note (side note, I just spelled author wrong like six times and eventually just had to spell check it. brain fart!) is waaaay too long. Sorry! Hope you guys liked it, don't forget to review, and the next one will be up on Saturday!


	6. Chapter 6

Still don't own the labyrinth. :)

Chapter 6

The class all sat startled for a moment, not sure what to make of Sarah having run out like that. All the children suddenly started talking excitedly at a high speed, while Mrs. Henderson seemed very flustered. The teacher turned to her son, intending to ask if he would run after Sarah to see if she was ok, but the old woman was shocked to see her son staring in the direction Sarah had ran off in with a sly smile on his lips.

As she continued to stare, he turned to her, the wily smirk exchanged for a softer smile and apologetic eyes. "It has been a pleasure serving as your son today madam," Christian said to her.

"Huh?" Was her eloquent reply.

With another smile Christian called out to Toby, "I think it's time to leave my lord, what say you?"

Toby turned to look at the two adults and smiled in his own fiendish way. "Sounds good! Sarah can't have all the fun." With a significant look at the children surrounding him and at his teacher Toby added, "Is everything taken care of?"

"It will be soon enough my lord. You must wait outside though; once their minds are wiped they won't understand why you're here."

With a nod Toby jumped up, quickly grabbing his bag and stuffing everything in his desk inside. Before he left, he stood in front of Mrs. Henderson and gave the surprised old woman a big hug. "You've been a great teacher Mrs. H. I'll miss you!"

"Toby, what-" but before the old woman could ask her question Toby was gone. The lady blinked a few times, confused by the odd sense of loss she suddenly had. She noticed her hand was being held by a strange man and almost jumped. Removing her hand quickly she asked the handsome stranger, "Who are you?"

Christian gave the old teacher a warm smile and stepped back a pace. "Forgive me madam, I was looking for my nephew and had been told this was his classroom."

Mrs. Henderson glanced at the children sitting on the floor in front of them, sprawled out and watching a Halloween cartoon on the room's television. "Who is your nephew?"

"Toby Williams," Christian replied.

A frown appeared on Mrs. Henderson's face as she tried to remember why that name sounded so familiar to her. He wasn't one of her students, but maybe he was in the room next to hers? "I'm sorry sir, but I don't have anyone in my class by that name. Are you sure you have the right room?"

The stranger laughed slightly and told her, "I'm sure I do. But no matter, Toby has already been removed from here." With a last smile at her he nodded his head and bid her farewell.

Mrs. Henderson watched as the good looking young man left her room, still puzzled by the odd turn of events. But with a shake of her head she returned to her students, soon forgetting all about the strange man and anyone with the last name Williams.

Toby and Christian stood outside the classroom for a moment watching the aging teacher throw off her suspicions and continue the class as normal. Toby was a little sad to think that his teacher and all his school friends had completely forgotten him with out any kind of fight. But the sad truth was that they were all disbelieving mortals, even the children that should have still had a little bit of belief. "Do not worry my lord, they have completely forgotten about you," Christian told him, thinking that was the reason for Toby's frown.

"I know Chris, but it just seems so sad. Why was it so easy for all the kids? Why don't they believe anymore?"

Christian chuckled at the grown up little boy. "They ignore the magic around them for the same reasons that you, a mere seven year old mortal boy, would debate the beliefs of a jaded world."

Some of those words were unknown to Toby, but he got the gist and nodded in understanding. "Let's go Chris. Mom's got quite a temper when she's mad and I hate to think what she'll do to dad when she finds out what's going on."

"I believe your father will be fine for awhile; he's had plenty of experience dealing with your mother," Christian told him with an odd quirk to his mouth. "I think it would be best if we returned to the house so you can pack up anything else you wish to take."

With a shrug Toby agreed and with a second of concentration banished his backpack. The two of them walked down to the field the class had recently played in, knowing it was far enough away from prying eyes. Christian took his form first, transforming into a large brown goshawk. The abnormally large bird kept an eye out for anyone that might happen by as Toby became a much smaller peregrine. The goshawk then shock himself rigorously, settling his feathers and then gave a jerk of his head. As one they spread their wings and took flight, a hard task while on the ground, but something they had both practiced. A moment later and both were winging away off towards the Williams' home.

* * *

Please don't kill me! I know it was short, but at least you know A LITTLE more than you did before, right?!? Right?

Right, well, please don't kill me! Or leave mean reviews. :)

I'm sorry it's short. I finally figured out what I want to do with this fun little story, and this was a good place to stop. As I said the last chapter will be posted on Halloween, so that means there's only two more to go! Yay! Just two more and all the questions will be answered... and hopefully somewhere in between Jareth will FINALLY make an appearance! Until then, thank you to my reviewers. :) Please review this chapter if you get a chance, but don't kill me yet! Or you'll never know what's going on... Muah ha ha...


	7. Chapter 7

Je n'ai pas le Labyrinth. Wow, haven't used the frnech skills in awhile. I don't know the word for own so I actually said I don't have labyrinth. At least I think I did. I may have just insulted your mom. 0.o

Chapter 7

The faint music and singing had continued to pull Sarah along, far past the bounds of the school and even the surrounding area. When she had at last come out of whatever trance or spell she had been put under she was at the park. Faintly she could still hear the song that had led her this far, but it no longer pulled at her with such urgency.

Instead she was now in full control of herself and what she would do. Her face felt hot as a blush spread across her cheeks when she thought of what had just happened. _I left right in the middle of my story. They must all think I'm nuts and Toby is probably worried sick. _It was too late though to fix what had happened. She forced herself to focus on what was happening now and on deciding what she was to do.

_I was mistaken before, but this HAS to be Jareth! He's calling me to him, but should I go? _After a moment of hesitation Sarah continued to follow the summons. The rollercoaster ride she had been on all day could only end when she had finally confronted the one responsible for it all.

The music seemed to lead her on a winding circuitous path through the park. She followed the faint sound past the playground, around the lake, and finally it led her into the trees. Once she began to make her way through the tall evergreens the music seemed to increase in volume while the rest of the sounds of the outside world began to fade away. The trees cut off all sounds of the cars passing by and the cheerful noise of the small children playing and being supervised by their mothers, leaving Sarah alone to wander through the dense trees with just the haunting melody as her companion.

Suddenly she stumbled into a well lit clearing, a part of the small forest where one of the trees must have toppled awhile ago. In its place sun light was able to stream in allowing grass and small clumps of flowers to grow. Although both types of plant had started to die with the chill of fall, some had survived the first few nights of frost, creating nice dashes of color among the ordinary green and brown of the trees.

Once Sarah had fully entered the clearing the music abruptly ended, leaving a deafening silence in its wake. All was normal for a moment before a strong wind began to blow, whipping the tree limbs into a frenzy and blowing Sarah's hair and skirt every which way. For just a moment the unnatural silence and wind sent a creepy chill down Sarah's spine, but then she forced herself to calm down. Angry now at the king that was trying to intimidate her Sarah called out, "Enough Jareth! Don't you think we're past your little parlor tricks? I'm not fifteen anymore."

Just as suddenly as it started, the wind stopped, dying down to nothing. Not even the leaves were stirred in the still air. Sarah sighed, wondering when the blasted king would make his entrance. _Maybe it irked him that I wasn't cowering in fear for my life and he left?_ "Come on Your Grouchiness! I haven't got all day."

"I don't recall ever having been 'grouchy' Sarah," said a voice from behind her, causing her to whirl around with a strangled squeak. "Terrifying, certainly. Charming, absolutely. But grouchy? I don't believe so." How she hated that smirk. Some might find it amusing or sexy, but all Sarah could think about was ways of wiping it off of his face. Time hadn't changed the all mighty Goblin King. He looked the same as she remembered him from the ordeal five years ago and just as he did in her dreams. Only a few inches separated their heights now that she was fully grown and she had no trouble glaring directly into his mismatched eyes. His hair encircled his head in a halo of frizzy platinum and he was dressed impeccably as always, tight black breeches with tall boots, a billowy white shirt encased by a black leather vest, and a pair of gloves to complete the outfit.

"Forgive me Jareth, I just assumed you were a tad grouchy when you did all those horrible things to me in your labyrinth. I guess I should have known that wasn't the case and that you are just a cruel and sadistic king bent on your own pleasures." Sarah wanted to grin in triumph as his smirk faltered after her acidic response. Her moment didn't last though as his eyes flashed a warning and that awful smirk returned.

"Ah Sarah, how I've missed you!" Beginning to circle her like a hungry shark with its prey, Jareth let his eyes wander over her form. "You've changed since we last saw one another. I should have known that the wide eyed girl that insisted on the fairness of everything would be gone." As he returned to the front of her his eyes had turned a dark smoldering color and his voice went low and husky. "I'm beginning to think that the fiery and sarcastic woman before me is an improvement."

"Gee, thanks a lot," Sarah said while rolling her eyes. While Jareth seemed less threatening in a sense than he had before when he had attempted to steal her brother away, the way he acted now was only slightly more appealing. His eyes had a hunger to them and he chose to stand way to close for Sarah's comfort. "What do you want Jareth?" She finally came out and asked.

"I want what I wanted before my dear," he said softly, the hunger even more obvious in his eyes.

Backing up a step, Sarah frowned at him. "I know you're not saying what I think you're saying."

Taking a step closer to erase the distance she tried to put between them he asked, "And what would that be?"

Another step back which he smoothly matched. "That's just sick Jareth. How could you think that you could get what you want? We're enemies, remember?"

"Were; at one time my dear." For a second he stopped coming after her and a shadow seemed to pass over his features. "But you well and truly defeated me." The moment passed and he returned to normal, slowly stalking her. "I would think that if I could have moved on from that, you could as well," he said with a slow smile.

Unfortunately for Sarah, she seemed to have run out of room to maneuver. Taking one last step left her pressed up against a tree and Jareth joined her a second later, cutting off any chance she would have at escape. Trying to regain her defiant attitude she said, "I don't think you've moved on at all. I think this is just some sick plan for revenge." While she was able to keep her voice steady, her limbs betrayed her as a shaking took hold of her body.

Jareth seemed to notice this as his smirk grew wider. Reaching out a hand he lifted up a lock of hair that had fallen forward and rubbed the silky strand between his fingers. At last he looked back at her and leaned forward until their faces were almost touching. His breath fell from his lips in hot puffs as he spoke, sending more shivers racing through her body. "Perhaps this is about revenge. Maybe I do wish to see you as hurt and broken as I once was." Closer still he came until he was almost speaking with his lips against hers. "But maybe, just maybe, I'd rather you'd scream my name in pleasure than shout it in anger."

Sarah's eyes had begun to close as he talked, her limbs almost melting into a puddle. But what he said to her finally jolted her awake and her lids flew open in surprise, shocked to see Jareth standing a few yards away from her with a satisfied smirk on his gorgeous face. "Which would you rather it be, my dear?" He tauntingly asked of her.

Sarah glared at him angrily, upset that she would have allowed him to affect her so. "I would rather you leave me be," she gritted out between her clenched teeth.

With a dramatic sigh he said to her, "Sadly, my dear, I'm unable to comply with your wishes."

"And why's that?" She asked him flippantly.

With a sudden rush he was there before her again, crushing his mouth down onto hers. This was no gentle or tender kiss, but rather it was wild and unpredictable just like the man. His lips held onto hers with a fierceness that might have scared a lesser maiden, but Sarah was no weak willed twit. Immediately she began to fight back, pushing against his chest and attempting to separate their mouths. Jareth wasn't allowing her to gain any ground however and he pressed her back tightly against the tree.

In the ensuing scuffle, Jareth had managed to get close enough to bury his hands in her hair, holding her head in a tight but tender hold. Sarah continued to push against him, but it was like pushing against a bolder. With a small moan of defeat Sarah gave up, hanging limply in his arms and receiving his kiss passively. Jareth gave a small growl of triumph, pleased by her submission. When she had given up, allowing him to continue, a small spark of pleasure had been ignited within her. Slowly her arms came up to rest around his waist and she was leaning into him. To both of their astonishments, she began to return his kiss, slipping her tongue out to meet his.

It was a few minutes before Jareth pulled back, chuckling when Sarah pushed forward again trying to continue the kiss. His sensual laughter brought her back to her senses and she pushed against him again, this time winning her freedom. "Well," he said in a slow drawl, licking his bottom lip slowly, "I guess that answers that question."

Furious with herself for giving into him, she scrubbed at her mouth with the back of her hand, wishing to be rid of the taste of him. "Forgive me if I'm unable to resist against a man twice as strong as I am," she spit out.

Smiling lazily at her, he chided in a menacing tone. "You can try to lie all you want, my dear, but we both know the truth." Her eyes had turned a dark green color and she shot him a disdainful look and opened her mouth as if she were going to refute him. He gave a big smirk and cut her off, "Shall I kiss you again to prove my point?"

Warily she edged around him and got away from the tree so that her retreat wouldn't be blocked. "Touch me again Jareth and I'll scream," she said heatedly.

"Don't worry Sarah; there will be time for that later." Extending a hand to her he lifted an eyebrow and said, "I think it's time for us to go."

A touch of hysteria entered her laugh as she looked at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding? Why would I go anywhere with you?"

"Because you want to," he told her impatiently. "We've been standing around for too long as it is. Let's go."

Sarah couldn't believe the audacity of him. _Who the hell does he think he is?_ "I'm not going anywhere with you! Just go away Jareth and leave me alone."

An angry frown replaced his customary smirk and his eyes turned hard. "I allowed you to defy me once Sarah, but not this time. We both know what we want and yet I seem to be the only one willing to admit it." Quirking a brow at her he smiled again and asked, "Could it be that you are afraid?"

"Hardly," Sarah spat out. "The only thing I'm afraid of is not being able to get rid of you." Coming to the conclusion that she would have to end this herself, she turned her back on the king and began to walk away.

A gloved hand reached out and grabbed her as she walked by, stopping her in her tracks. "This isn't just about you Sarah. I'm not going to let you leave until we discuss this."

Jerking her arm away from him she told him forcefully, "There is nothing to discuss." Before he could say anything more she ran off. With every step away from him she expected another hand on the arm stopping her, but she ran unchallenged. Still she worried that he would come after her so she kept up the pace until she made it back home. Standing on her front step for a few moments she gasped for breath, trying hard to calm down.

_What the hell just happened? Jareth, he KISSED me! And then he wanted me to go with him. But where? Back to the Underground? Why? And what did he mean it's not just about me? _On hind sight, Sarah realized that maybe running off as she had wasn't really the best thing, but at the moment she had panicked somewhat. Everything that happened was just so unexpected and her heart was still racing.

_Maybe Hoggle will answer me now and I can get some answers,_ she thought at last, making her way into the house. As the door opened she was surprised to see Toby's backpack lying at the bottom of the stairs. She knew that school shouldn't be out for another half hour, so for Toby to be home already, something must be up.

She closed the door louder than she meant to and she heard footsteps running to the top of the stairs. "Is that you dad? How did everything go?" Toby's blonde head appeared and he wore a bright smile on his face. When he came to the end of the landing and saw only Sarah though he looked slightly confused. "Where's dad?" He asked Sarah.

"What are you doing home already Toby? And you know that dad is in New York this week for meetings."

"No, not Robert!" Toby said with a laugh. Robert was the name of Toby and Sarah's father, but she had never heard Toby refer to him in that way. "And I came home to pack up some stuff. Don't worry though, Chris took care of everything and he's been helping me banish stuff so it hasn't been too much of a strain." The little boy spoke so nonchalantly about things that made no sense to Sarah and she was starting to feel like she had entered the Twilight Zone.

"Chris is helping you?" She said quietly.

"Indeed my lady," a deep voice said, one which she barely recognized. Christian, Mrs. Henderson's son, joined Toby at the railing looking down at her. He had abandoned the old woman's costume for clothes that closely resembled what Jareth had worn earlier. However his was more colorful, being done in hues of tan and forest green and he had left off the leather gloves Jareth favored.

"My lady?" Sarah said in what she thought was a whisper. But Christian seemed to hear her and he cocked his head to the side quizzically.

Toby on the other hand rolled his eyes. "Dad must have not explained everything. He was probably too excited sweeping you off your feet. So where is he anyways?"

For a second Sarah closed her eyes as a headache shot lances of pain out. _I don't think I've ever been this confused in my life! _When she felt somewhat under control she opened her eyes and met the worried faces of Toby and Christian. "Toby, I have no idea what you are talking about. Slowly and carefully explain to me what's going on. Who are you talking about when you ask about dad?"

"That would be me, my dear." This time that voice coming from behind her didn't startle her and make her squeak in fear. This time it was like a pail of cold water had been thrown at her, causing her to freeze in place. A look of horror passed over her face and she felt sick to her stomach as she watched first the happy grin light up Toby's face and then saw the deep bow Christian gave to the man behind her.

Ever so slowly she turned to face the Goblin King, feeling a tremendous weight of doom pressing down on her. "You're not his father," she whispered as soon as she was able to.

"Maybe not in the physical sense my dear, but seeing how he is my heir, that title suits us both and makes the boy happy." With a raised eyebrow he asked her, "And who better to serve as the boy's mother than the woman who practically raised him from birth? The fact that his 'father' is more than fond of her helps quite a bit as well." Looking to the two standing on the floor above them he asked, "Are you ready to go Toby?"

"Yes sir!" Was the boy's cheerful response. "Can we go home now?"

Focusing again on Sarah, Jareth echoed Toby's question, "Can we go home now?"

Replying in the only way she knew how, she fainted.

* * *

Hazzah! Jareth has at last shown up! And what an entrance! 

I really didn't expect this when I started writing this story. I thought it would be a fun little piece of halloween fluff... And instead I end up with this! I'm not sure what this is, but it's sure not a piece of halloween fluff! This is actually fun though, it's exciting to write Jareth a lot more dark and a little mean. I guess this really is my evil side coming out.

I hope y'all understand things a little more now. I know a lot of people were confused after the last chapter. :) Thank you so much to everyone reviewing! Please do so again. :) Just one more to go and you won't believe the ending that's in store...


	8. Chapter 8

Happy Halloween! This is it! The final chapter! Ahh!!! This is my FIRST completed fanfic!!! And it's not The Challenge...? Wierd. :)

Still don't own the labyrinth. But this story is mine, however wretched it may be...

Chapter 8

It was the dream. Same as it always was. Trapped in the giant crystal, surrounded by beautiful people laughing and having fun, and as always Sarah was off by herself and searching desperately for something she would never find.

_I'm not doing this anymore! I quit. _Never before had she realized she was dreaming, but this time she had and she was refusing to play along with it. Angrily she stood in the middle of the dance floor, feet planted and arms crossed over her chest. The music continued to play, the dancers continued to swirl, and a vague sense of urgency kept prodding her to move, but she stayed still.

_This time he can come to me. This is my dream damn it; for once I'm in control. _That's what she told herself, but she didn't really think it would happen. The most she hoped for was to wake up. But unexpectedly, there he was, standing directly in front of her.

For once the hateful smirk was gone and in its place was a somber expression. He mimicked her pose, feet braced apart and arms crossed in front of his chest, and he seemed to be waiting for something. "Well?" She finally said, breaking the silence between them.

She waited for him to speak, but nothing was forthcoming. "Aren't you going to say something?" She tried again to garner a response from him. "Let me guess, you're tired of being mean Jareth and charming Jareth has also left the building, so I'm left with silent Jareth?" She asked sarcastically.

He stayed the same though, mouth closed. His silence was beginning to infuriate her and the people around them combined with the music were distracting her. "Why won't you people just go away and leave me alone!" She finally shouted out in anger. Immediately the scene dissolved around her, leaving her with nothing. She seemed to be stuck in a black void where she could not hear, see, or touch anything.

"Wait," she whimpered softly. "I don't really want to be alone!"

"Neither do I," the quiet voice murmured in her ear.

With a gasp Sarah sat up, almost hitting Christian in the process. Her head began to throb horribly, forcing her to lie back down with a load groan. Christian continued to hover over her, placing a hand on her head. Immediately her head began to feel better and she opened her eyes again, sitting up much more slowly this time. "What happened?" She managed to croak out.

"You fainted, my lady, knocking your head on a table," Christian told her in a matter of fact tone. He was gentle tough as he helped her sit up and brought a glass of water to her lips, holding it as she took a sip.

Sarah looked at her surroundings, happy and relieved to see that she was in her bedroom. _At least they didn't carry me off to the Underground while I was unconscious. _To Christian she asked, "Where are Toby and Jareth?"

"His majesty took the young lord out for a bit; neither were doing any good to themselves or you by waiting around and worrying. Although both were very adamant about not leaving until I assured them you were perfectly fine." Sarah frowned at the idea of Toby going anywhere with Jareth and tried to stand up. The room began to spin around her though and she quickly fell back onto the bed. "I wouldn't suggest doing that, my lady. Your head is healed and all will be well soon, but you must give your body time to recover."

Her eyes swimming, Sarah looked at him in confusion. "Who healed me?"

"I did of course, with his majesty's permission." Sarah was having a hard time reconciling this formal and efficient servant of Jareth's with the fun and silly man that had been dressed as an old woman earlier.

"It would be great if someone explained all this to me," she mumbled to herself.

Christian nodded and said, "The young lord figured you'd feel that way once his majesty told us that you run off before he could explain things properly to you." With a hesitant smile Christian added, "You must forgive him, my lady. He seems to become overzealous when it comes to you and he acts without thinking at times."

Sarah gave a weary chuckled and said, "That's an understatement." Becoming more serious she asked, "Could you tell me what's going on?"

He looked somewhat uncomfortable, but nodded his head. "I will try, my lady." Clearing his throat he said, "I suppose it's best to start at the beginning."

"Let me guess," she interjected, "This all started a few months ago when Toby asked to be the Goblin King for Halloween?"

The level of comfort seemed to drop further as he looked more uneasy. "I'm afraid not, my lady. King Jareth and Prince Toby have had a relationship for the last five years."

"Five years?!" She exclaimed. "But, that means this has been going on since I rescued him from the labyrinth!"

"Yes, it has." He gave her a moment to process that before he continued on. "His majesty became attached to Toby very quickly. The labyrinth approved of him as well and right after you beat the goblin king and took your brother home, King Jareth proclaimed your brother his heir."

"But I won!" Sarah said. "I beat him fair and square so Jareth can't take him away."

"You're correct in saying that at the time you had beaten our king and won your brother back. But it is Jareth's right to name anyone his heir and as long as the boy accepts it stands." With an apologetic expression Christian added, "Toby accepted long ago."

"He's just a little boy!" Sarah exclaimed. "He has no idea what's he's getting himself into!"

"Actually Sarah, he knows quite a bit more than you and has spent quite a lot of time Underground learning what it will be like to rule." Sarah turned to see Jareth standing in her doorway, leaning casually against the frame.

"Where's Toby?" She asked immediately.

"Downstairs with a tummy ache," was his response. Turning to Christian he said, "Perhaps you should go attend to the foolish boy. He just might listen when you tell him that eating a dozen candy bars will end badly."

With a smile and a bow to his lord and lady, Christian exited the room. Jareth had gotten out of his way and walked towards Sarah, coming to stand by her bed. With a single gloved hand he tilted her head up and looked into her eyes. "No permanent harm done it seems," he said in a low voice. He added with a slight smirk, "If I had known you would respond in such a dramatic way I would have been prepared to move faster."

Sarah jerked her chin away and attempted to stand up again. This time she felt only a moment of dizziness as she stood and when she felt steady enough she walked away from Jareth and over to the window.

"Christian was explaining things to me," she told him in an even tone. "Perhaps you could continue?"

With a debonair bow and a small grin Jareth replied, "As my lady wishes." Settling himself comfortably on her bed he asked, "What else would you like to know?"

"What did you mean when you said he's been back to the Underground?" she asked with out turning back to look at him.

"Ah yes. Well my dear, as my heir it just would not do for him to not understand the place and the people he would one day rule over. Since that night when you so carelessly wished him away I've come to see him every night and have taken him to the Underground for a few hours each time."

That got her to turn around. Her lips were thin and her eyebrows were lowered at him. "I didn't 'carelessly' wish him away." When he chose not to reply to that she asked, "How did you take him with you with out anyone noticing?"

"I came for him at night, after he had been put to bed. I would only keep him for a few hours and when I brought him back I would reorder time," he explained to her with a smug look on his face.

Sarah began to pace slowly back and forth, clearly agitated. "Wasn't that a bit dangerous for him, going to the labyrinth?" At his lifted eyebrow she told him sarcastically, "It's not really a piece of cake after all."

He gave her a soft chuckle and asked her, "Sarah, as my heir, do you really think I wouldn't give him my protection? Christian has been like a shadow for the boy, even aboveground, and I've kept him with me in the Underground." Here he paused and gave her a look full of triumph, adding, "And since the boy became fae he has his own magical powers to protect him."

"He's WHAT?!" Sarah shrieked out. Not even aware of what she was doing, Sarah ran for the door, intending to find Toby and see the truth for herself.

But Jareth was having none of that. Before she could make it to the door he was there, wrapping both arms around her in a vice like grip. "Don't do anything rash to upset the boy," he hissed out into her ear. "He has waited excitedly for this day for years and I won't let you do anything to spoil it." As she calmed down somewhat he loosened his grip and when he was certain she wouldn't run away he released her totally. "Sarah, think about it. This life that I'm offering to him is so much better than what he has here." Jareth turned her around so that she was facing him and he lifted her chin up so she was looking directly into his eyes. "What does he have now? A mother and father too focused on their careers and themselves to pay him any attention and a few mortal friends that don't really understand him. Underground he will have friends that are just as he is, an entire kingdom to play in and someday rule, and a father that loves him and is devoted to his happiness."

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes as he talked about taking her brother away from her. "He has me here," she whispered to him.

"And he will have you Underground," Jareth told her firmly. "You will come with us and be the mother to Toby that you've been all these years. Only this time you won't be alone." Tenderly he brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. "All that I offered you once before I offer again Sarah." Leaning in close he went to brush his lips against hers.

"No!" Sarah said, breaking out of his hold. Going to the other end of the room she asked him breathlessly, "What did you offer me before? The chance to fear you? Obey you?"

His eyes were beginning to turn cold and his voice was low in anger, but he sought to control himself. "I offered you the chance to love me! I ask you to be my queen and help me to raise my heir. What more do you want?"

A mirthless laugh escaped her lips and she replied in scorn, "I want love that is free of tricks and lies! I want a normal life free of dangers untold and hardships unnumbered!" Stalking towards him angrily she poked him in the chest in emphasis as she continued, "_You_ went behind my back and filled my brother's head with fantasy and rubbish, changing his life and destiny forever! Of course he chose to be your heir! What boy wouldn't like magic powers and the idea of one day ruling a kingdom? _You_ gave him the choice when he was too young to realize what it would mean and _you_ stole any chance that he might have had at a normal life. And then, because you only think of _yourself, you_ hatched some plan into tricking me to come with you." Pausing to take a deep breath, she continued after a moment. "Well, unfortunately for you Goblin King, I'm not as impressionable as my brother. I'm not coming with you."

Turning then she walked away from the stunned king. Jareth looked at her for a moment in total shock, but his surprise quickly turned to anger. "You will never see your brother again," he said to her in a deathly calm voice.

A quiet sniff was his only answer for a moment as Sarah tried hard to stem the flow of tears. "I know," she said quietly at last. "I can't stop you this time because I didn't wish him away."

Both were silent for a moment before he broke the silence. "Why are you punishing us both like this Sarah?" He asked in an icy tone.

Without turning to face him she said, "Magic may exist, monsters can be your friends, but fairytales aren't real. I learned that long ago. You may be a king, but you're not the handsome prince on a white horse come to carry me away." Turning to him with a sad smile she finished by saying, "You don't love me Jareth. You just want to own me."

Silently he stood there, watching as the tears rolled down her cheeks. With out another word uttered to Sarah he bellowed out, "Christian!"

A moment later the other man had joined them, looking slightly worried. "Yes my lord?"

Still looking directly at Sarah he told him, "Lady Sarah has decided not to join us. Wipe her mind."

Sarah looked confused at the two men and Christian's face went white. "My-my lord, are you quite certain?"

"Do not question me," Jareth told him. Before leaving the room he took one last glance at Sarah. "You've managed to defy me again my dear. But I'm not as merciless as you thought. You want a normal life, free of magic and fairytales? Than you shall have one, cleansed of the memories of all that you've ever known." With that he spun around and left.

"What does that mean Jareth?" She called out to him, but he didn't reply or come back to her. Sarah then turned to Christian and asked, "What's going on now?"

"I'm very sorry, my lady," he told her. Gently he reached out and grabbed her hand. Right before he took hold of her what Jareth had said suddenly made sense and she tried to pull back. Christian was relentless though and got to her before she could escape.

Sarah blinked. What was going on? The day was like a big blur for her and she couldn't remember what she had been doing just now. Looking to her right she saw herself in the mirror and noticed that she was wearing her Halloween costume. _That's right, it's Halloween. How could I have forgotten? _Sarah shook her head, trying to clear it. _There's something else though… I feel like there's something else… DING DONG!_

The sound of the doorbell ringing startled her and she snapped out of her stupor. The bell rang again before she had even made it to the stairs and by the time she got to the door it was ringing again. "Trick or Treat!" A group of kids called out as she opened the door.

Sarah smiled at the group, passing out candy to the ghost, witch, vampire, and cowboy. "Thank you!" They all chorused together.

"Happy Halloween," she replied, smiling and waving at the parents waiting for them. She was about to go back inside when an adorable blonde haired boy came running up to her all by himself. "Well aren't you just so cute," Sarah told him. "Are you here all by yourself?"

"No," the little boy said looking slightly sad. "My dad and uncle are waiting for me." The little boy pointed behind him and Sarah noticed two tall figures standing partly in the shadows. She smiled and waved at them, but they both stood motionless. It was hard to tell from so far away but it looked like the taller of the two had a fierce frown on his face.

"That's your dad? He doesn't look very happy," Sarah said to the little boy with a worried frown.

"Yeah," the boy said, looking as if he had lost his best friend.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Sarah asked kneeling down in front of him. She was shocked when the little boy burst into tears and threw himself into her arms. For some reason, Sarah felt her own eyes filling with tears and she held the boy tightly to her. After they had stayed that way for awhile Sarah pulled back a little bit so she could look into the boy's face. He looked so familiar to her, but she couldn't think of his name. "No more tears now, ok?" She finally said to him.

Bravely he nodded, stifling his sniffles and rubbing his nose with his hand. "Don't forget about me Sarah," he said to her. When she looked at him in shock he broke away from her and ran back to his family. For a long while she watched them as they walked away and for some unknown reason she had an almost uncontrollable urge to run after them.

_I must be going crazy, _she thought at last. Finally going back into the house she closed the door and turned off the lights, not wanting to have to deal with any more trick-or-treaters tonight. Heading up to her room, she was still having a hard time shaking off her feelings of unease and loss. Deciding she would read a little before bed she went to her bookshelf and began to look through the assorted stories. A bright color off to the side drew her eyes and she picked up the old and worn book.

Sitting comfortably on the window seat she opened it and began to read. _Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl…_

_The End

* * *

_

Wow... Who saw that coming? Not a one of you I'm willing to bet! How's that for keeping you on your toes?!!?

Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed, you guys are awesome. :) Don't forget to review on your way out, and I hoped you enjoyed my little story. Toodles!

* * *

AHAHAHA! Do you really think I would end things this way?!? If I did I would have to shoot myself! So don't send me angry reveiws or emails. This is not the end! 

Well, technically this IS the end, of this part at least. :) But this story WILL have a sequel. Unfortunately for all you impatient people out there, the sequel will not be up until 2 weeks before Thanksgiving! Muah ha ha... Evil! I know. Forgive me. But, I loved the holiday theme so much I decided to continue with it. Two sequels in fact. :) The final portion will be posted for Christmas. I even came up with a name! The Holiday Trilogy. Dumb yah? Oh well, I'm no good with titles. :)

So yeah, two sequels will follow, but how they turn out is still up in the air. After the way this one finished up, who knows... Maybe I'll kill one of them off?

Until then... kukukuku  
Nopa


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